Final post

I can honestly say that this is one of the most informative classes I have taken at UT.  I have learned so many new tools and programs I can now integrate into my future classroom.  One of my favorite projects was this blog.  I loved being able to reflect on each project we did and make this my own.  I could see myself using this in the classroom to keep parents and the students at home involved.  My favorite projects were learning about the Web 2.0 tools, like Picassa, Glogster, Animoto, Wordle, digital collections using Imovie, and the Interactive spreadsheet.  All of these activities were fun and once I got the hang of them were fairly easy to use.  As a teacher I would use digital storytelling to introduce something that students may deem as boring to jazz it up to where it will appeal to them.  The Web 2.0 tools I mentioned would be a great way to design a video or a newsletter for the parents to see what students are doing in the classroom.  My partner and I were assigned to research Glogster and found that this interactive poster board would easily replace a boring book report or Science Fair poster with an animated, interactive, creative and collaborative web page.   I now realize how being a master of technology will help me in the classroom.  Students want learning to be fun, and if it is something interactive where they can use and work with these tools, they will be more likely to remember the lesson and enjoy it.  I will expose  my future students to all the tools I have used in this class to allow them to create their own work and learn in a fun and digital way!!      

imovie

I had never used imovie before now, but I have used Windows Movie maker to make a digital photo collection.  I found Windows movie maker to be easier, only because that is the operating system I have at home and have used it before.  Imovie was one of the more difficult tools I have worked with in this class.  It was difficult putting the pictures exactly where I wanted them and having all the titles match up.  Once I got the hang of it I sped through it.  I also had to use the Audacity application in order to cut and break up my song I used.  This was very frustrating and difficult at first, but I eventually was able to make it work with my collection.  My digital collection was on the Spanish Alphabet, and because my minor is Spanish, I could incorporate mini Spanish lessons in my future classroom.  I enjoyed working with imovie though, and would definitely  use it in my future classroom! 

Interactive spreadsheet

In the excel spreadsheet I wrote multiplication facts that a third grader would know.  I had worked with excel briefly before so I found it to be not as difficult.  It was hard when I had to type the formula in over and over again in each row because I kept leaving out a symbol which messed up the whole formula.  I had never used the privacy or hidden tools which I think will be very useful in the classroom.  The students can't change what is already written but they are able to type and re type their answers.  I can see myself using this in the classroom for 3rd to 5th graders.  They will be able to complete the spreadsheet just like a worksheet but will automatically know if their answer is right.  The automatic feedback will be helpful so they can try again until they receive the right answer.  The only thing I didn't like on excel was their very limited amount of clip art images.  I expected excel to carry simple math images but could hardly find any. 

Inspiration Software-Life cycle of a butterfly

I used the inspiration software to design a diagram for 3rd grade students in a Science class.  This diagram explains the life cycle of a butterfly.  Finding the information was the easy part but working with this software was difficult.  I had to constantly delete a text box or link and try again.  Eventually I got the hang of it and was able to put all the images and text in order.  This would be such a great tool to use in the classroom especially for visual learners, this diagram would really grasp their attention and would better understand the material. 

Digital Collection

My theme for my digital collection was pumpkins.  I am very familiar with taking pictures myself and looking up images on Google but never have I used Big box of art, a scanner, or taken a screen shot.  Big box of art was similar to clip art which I used many times in elementary and middle school.  Scanning was scary for me I'm not very good at working a copying machine so I was nervous of scanning, but it was easy.  I never knew you could take a screen shot of anything. I think that is so cool!  I can see myself using this photo application, Picassa, for many things in and outside of the classroom.  This tool was also new to me but very easy to use.  I could easily make a small slide show of the alphabet, classroom rules, holidays that can be shown in my future classroom.  It would be so easy to find these pictures online, ones that were in the book, or I had taken with my personal camera.     

Scavenger Hunt- Colors

I enjoyed working on the digital scavenger hunt!  My group decided to take photos of different colors and use Google docs presentation.  This tool was very easy to use for our group because each group could make a contribution and their work would appear automatically.  I could see myself using this in the classroom and possibly allowing older students to go out and take the photos.  This is a very useful tool for working with students who are visual learners, like English Language Learners. 

Digital Collection-Pumpkins

Google Docs

I have a tendency to forget to bring my flash drive so if I needed to open a document I can NOW save it to google docs and open it using any Internet access.  This is a tool I will use for sure!  It was fascinating how my group and I were all working separately on the same page and the updates each person did appeared instantly on our screens.  This is a great collaborative tool to be used for group work!

Webquests

The activity we did on webquests was an eye opener to all the tools on the web that kids can be using in the classroom.  I didn't even know what a webquest was until this activity and I really like them!  I have found several wequests that I could use in the elementary classroom.  While doing the activity i loved the Underground Railroad activity.  I love Civil War History and would use this activity in my classroom.  This would be way more interesting and engaging than any story we would read in class about this topic.  Students get to really feel a part of what it was like by taking on roles.  Since this activity I have looked up other webquests that could be used in the classroom and found a coin counting and time telling webquest.  These webquests are aimed for lower grades so I feel with whatever grade I teach I can implement webquests in the classroom.  And who knows maybe I can someday create my own!

Using Web 2.0 tools

I found that a lot of these tools can be useful in the classroom and even right now as a student.  I liked smilebox and thought it would be the most useful now and once I am a teacher.  I love making collages and scrapbooks and smilebox has a plethora of ideas and formats I can use.  The great thing about this tool is being able to print it out at home or even save as an electronic copy by emailing it to others.  This is a great tool in keeping photos shared among families and friends.  I would definitely use this tool in the classroom to make end of the year photo books for the students and calenders for the year containing the children.  Children love seeing pictures of themselves in the classroom so this is a great way to engage students in what they are learning. 

Glogging....well that was fun!

       I never thought I would be familiar with the many educational tools the Web has to offer.  For the Web 2.0 project I was assigned glogster. I had no idea what glogster was and being nervous about working with a new tool in technology didn't help.  So my partner and I began working together.  After starting to work with glogster I realized how fun and useful it will be in the classroom.  It was such a cool and creative tool!  I registered an account with glogster and glogster edu and enjoyed playing around with all the possibilities to create my personal page.  I plan on using glosgster in the classroom so the students can do science fair projects and book reports in a new, fun, and creative way.  
       I also enjoyed the other groups presenting more Web 2.0 tools to use in the classroom.  Wordle and smilebox were my favorite.  I like to be creative and incorporate new ways and mechanisms in doing things so these sites stuck out to me.  Wordle is a great site that I can play around with main ideas or themes in a story we read in class or group students together in a certain way.  I love taking photos and scrapbooking so smilebox would definitely be used in my classroom.  I would love to make weekly newsletters to send home with parents and end of the year photo albums or scrapbooks of the children. 
      This web 2.0 assignment turned out to be more useful than I imagined! I can't wait to start working with these different tools!

Evaluating instructorweb

http://www.instructorweb.com/

Instructorweb was the site I evaluated.  This site contained a plethora of lesson plans in math, science, social studies, and language arts mainly focused for elementary students.  Teachers can post these lesson plans and become members to print off copies of worksheets.  I can definitely see myself using this website as a teacher.  This web evaluation opened my eyes to how reliable or unreliable a site may be.  When being a teacher I must make sure the information I receive is credible and the information I want my students to find be the same.  This site seemed reliable to me because the lesson plans contained factual correct information but it listed having no specific author.  Without an author there is no way to check the credibility or ask for additional references.  However, this website provided many creative lessons and numerous classroom activities and was open for all educators.       

Website evaluation

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm

The web evaluation site I found is called teacher tap.  This evaluation is especially useful for educators that can help their students trust a website they are using.  I would definitely use this as a teacher and would also use it now as a student.  It offers so much information and even gives you examples of "misleading websites".  Teacher tap also gives the user various criteria for evaluating a good website including: authority, objectivity, relevance, authenticity, reliability, timeliness, and efficiency.  This would be helpful in an elementary school classroom because it offers links to evaluation activities for these students and also links for middle and high school student activities.

Technology confuses me

Before this class I never thought I would be using blogs, wikis, and other social networks as a teacher. Hopefully this class will allow me to use the computer for more than what I am familiar with, such as my email or facebook. I hope this class can improve my technology skills, because of now, those skills are very limited. I want to be comfortable using technology and trying new things on my own that can be useful. I will be licensed to teach K-6 so I hope these tools and websites I learn can be incorporated into my classroom. Hopefully these teaching tools can engage my students and help them learn through technology and make learning more exciting and fun.

Who I am

My name is Maggie Sullivan and I am a senior with a major in Psychology and with minors in Spanish and Elementary Education. I love studying Psycholgy especially child and adolescent because I will be working with this age group as a teacher. I love knowing about their developmental stages, how they learn, and any disorders they can be diagnosed with. I chose Spanish as my minor because I have such an interest in the Latino culture and the language. But what I am most excited about is my internship next fall in a multicultural urban elementary school. I cannot wait until I become a teacher because I want to be able to make a difference in a child's life. I want to be a positive role model for them and teach them to master skills that they will need the rest of their lives. All the positive teachers I have had made learning interesting and I hope to engage the students with my abilities as a teacher so they continue with a higher education. If the child has no other positive interaction in their day I hope to be that one person they can find it in.

I have had numerous opportunities to work with children beginning with babysitting in middle school. Since then I have managed the nursery at my church every Saturday night for the past 4 years, taught Sunday school to 5th and 6th graders for the past 2 years, been a counselor at Kids Place at Inskip for the past 2 years, and have been a Big Sister through the Big Brother Big Sister Program. I have been able to work with children as young as 1 year and as old as 13 years old. However, I have a special interest with children from low income classes like those at Lonsdale where I completed my Apple Corp class. I observed a 2nd grade class room and a 4th grade science classroom and absolutly loved it. That is why I am so excited I will be interning at a multicultural urban school like Lonsdale or Inskip. I have enjoyed every experience I have had with these children.
When I have the time to relax and enjoy my hobbies I like to scrapbook, take pictures, cook and decorate cakes, volunteer, and walk at the park. I love being with my friends and family. I also enjoy swimming and going to the lake in the summer. I love going to the football and basketball games at UT and hope to go to all of them my last year.